Noisy King freewheel?

[recidivist]

OK, King hub fans.

I recently got my hands on a built wheel with a King rear hub. it's used, and I don't know the history, alas. I'm new to the whole 'Chris King Buzz' (I mean the noise, not the hype), but it seems like this hub is awfully noisy. There's loud 'click' on each step of the pawls -- but the freewheeling action seems to work fine.

Went down to the shop today and compared it against another hub (tho it wasn't built up). My impression was that it was really quiet. Each pawl was like a soft 'tick.'

Is this ringing a bell with anyone? Do the hubs get louder as they break in? Did the hubs used to be louder?

I tore down the hub. There seemed to be grease on the relevant bits in there. Maybe not enough?

Just looking for a clue.

Thks.

[The Toninator]

Personal observation the extra noise (built –v- nonbuilt) could be the clicks reverberating though the spokes. king rears make a lot of noise.

[recidivist]

Hmmm. So I checked with a friend who has a 700c King rear wheel. It seemed quite a bit quieter, but it's fairly new.

Come to think of it, the noise does kinda sounds like it's 'echoing' around from the wheel. Wierd.

Maybe this is some sort of fluke spoke length + spoke tension = resonance thing.

[The Toninator]

Originally posted by recidivist
Hmmm. So I checked with a friend who has a 700c King rear wheel. It seemed quite a bit quieter, but it's fairly new.

Come to think of it, the noise does kinda sounds like it's 'echoing' around from the wheel. Wierd.

Maybe this is some sort of fluke spoke length + spoke tension = resonance thing.
And material. Steel will resonate better than aluminum better than carbon.

[Ridemonkey]

My uninformed opinion:

I too have seen noisy ones and quiet ones. Could it be that design changes make the newer models quieter?

[recidivist]

Now there's an unusual thought. I wonder if these wheels have the steel freehub body?. Hmmm...

[Tweek]

I'm not sure if all of their rear hubs use the RingDrive engagement system, but the ones like their disc hubs that do are pretty loud. One thing that can make two of the same hubs (disc, at least) sound louder or quieter is the amount of King RingDrive grease used to lube the mechanism.

[SpasticJack]

I have 4 sets of King wheels and here is what I have found to be true:
The steel freehub bodies are louder than the aluminum ones.

A hub that needs to be greased will be louder than one that is freshly repacked.

The more lube in the Ringdrive rings the quieter the hub will be. As it gets loud, you know it's time to service it. Get yourself some ringdrive lube and DL the service instructions. I takes about a minute to get into where you need to be to service the hub if you take your time.

You'll need :
(2) 5mm allen wrenches
a very small screwdriver or thin bladed knife
Ringdrive lube (get the King stuff, it's important)

I like to clean everything with CleanStreak from White Lightning since it dries fast and doesn't funk everything up with solvent residue

The greatest thing about King's stuff is the user serviceability. You can easily maintain your stuff w/o specialized tools.

edit > All King hubs use the ringdrive for freehub engagement

[recidivist]

OK. I've gotten in touch with CKG directly for the procuring of the lube and etc. Let's see what they have to say. I still haven't checked the composition of the drive shell, but I'm liking the 'just needs some TLC' theory.

Thanks, all, for the help.

[SpasticJack]

Short of riding on the hubs loose (bad bad bad) there isnt much you can do to really mess them up that bad. Enjoy.

[TickTock]

gotta love that noise eh? Mine is fairly new and its funny. each king hub has its own personality. Some are fairly quiet. Mine is high pitched and seems to almost resonate bbbbbbzzzzZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbBBBBBBBBBBzzzzz z

Between that and the great motor sound of my e-13 drs, I hear some music when pedaling and coasting. Scares the birds away hehe.

If its "clicking" too loud prolly needs grease like others said. Freewheeling mine really slowly, each engagement sounds like a soft litte thud, not a metallic clink.

[Tweek]

Originally posted by SpasticJack
The greatest thing about King's stuff is the user serviceability. You can easily maintain your stuff w/o specialized tools.

Yes, you can do routine maintenance with the wrenches and the lube, but CK has a Hub Service Tool that lets you disassemble the freehub assembly and dislodge the bearings for full service (every year or so, depending). It's up to you whether it's worth spending the money on the tool (~$70) or taking it somewhere for full service when needed. The cool thing about having the tool is that you get to whack on it with a mallet! :D :devil: :D

[LostBoyScout]

Riding with a trials group, a lot of them run Kings. Each one seems to sound different. One in particular is very loud... he gets flack for running it too dry.. if there's grease in there though I wouldn't worry.

[SpasticJack]

Originally posted by Tweek

Yes, you can do routine maintenance with the wrenches and the lube, but CK has a Hub Service Tool that lets you disassemble the freehub assembly and dislodge the bearings for full service (every year or so, depending). It's up to you whether it's worth spending the money on the tool (~$70) or taking it somewhere for full service when needed. The cool thing about having the tool is that you get to whack on it with a mallet! :D :devil: :D

Ahh yes the tool kit, what a piece of art that is. Mine is on the way from King as we speak (now I won't have to borrow my LBS's). I like being able to pop the hub shell bearings out so you can really get every thing nice and clean. They are well worth the money if you like doing your own maintenence.

[recidivist]

Are the King tool sets really that cheap ($70?). I assumed it would be big $$$ (at least as expensive at the hubs themselves....

[SpasticJack]

I just ordered mine from King direct and got it for $70